Braggi Wrongeye |
Ahhh. Yes, it's the only way to represent a precise strike which can kill in one go, even if it's called "power attack". Well, to be exact, it's the only way I have. Sorry about it, just meant to describe the attack with some variety.
GM Darkblade |
Jocasta and Braggi are standing, hopefully either soon to attend to the needs of their fallen comrades or perhaps those of their rear guard. Awaiting actions by Cedryk and Friends...
Initiative Order: Band 2
First Group: Rat Swarm (Stunned)
Band 1: Braggi, Jocasta, Musami (Unconscious/Stable) and Toruk (Unconscious/Bleeding)
Band 2: Cedryk, Hedgewyk, & Filnefillan
GM Darkblade |
Standing still, partly mesmerized Cedryk and Filnefillan watch and wait as the rat swarm slowly reshapes itself, shaking itself free of the dazzling light show and it's affects on much of it's mass.
Skipping Cedryk and Filnefillan this round, on to the next
Initiative Order: Band 1
First Group: Rat Swarm (Stunned)
Band 1: Braggi, Jocasta, Musami (Unconscious/Stable) and Toruk (Unconscious/Bleeding)
Band 2: Cedryk, Hedgewyk, & Filnefillan
Jocasta Riverwood |
"Need a healer here!" shouts Jocasta as she pivots toward the swarm. "Fire incoming!"
She pulls one of the vials of alchemical fire from her bag and hurls it at the swarm of rats.
Thrown weapon, point-blank: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 3 + 1 = 22
Alchemist's fire damage, point-blank: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Also one point of fire splash damage to everyone within 5'. Sorry.
Remember that many swarms take double damage from AOE weapons like this. Also the swarm will take another 1d6 fire damage next round.
GM Darkblade |
Swarms take +50% damage, not double.
Cedryk, Hedgewyk, and Filnefillan each catch flying globs of fluids as the alchemist's fire bursts into vibrant flames and heat across the front of the swarm of rats, many of which seem to burst into tiny embers in their own right, spreading the flames to their kith and kin.
1 HP of splash damage to each of them.
GM Roll: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Initiative Order: Band 1
First Group: Rat Swarm (Stunned)
Band 1: Braggi, Jocasta (Acted), Musami (Unconscious/Stable) and Toruk (Unconscious/Bleeding)
Band 2: Cedryk, Hedgewyk, & Filnefillan
Filnefillan "Fil" Lotusbow |
Fil drops his bow and draws his sword. He swings at the rats.
"You go take care of the others, I am no good as a healer!"
Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
I was also indisposed of yesterday. My apologies everyone. I'm putting my action out there now.
Braggi Wrongeye |
Braggi turns to find out there's no room for him, so he crouches to attend the wounded.
Heal Check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
With no effect.
GM Darkblade |
Cedryk slams the rats hard with his new found staff, finding the length to seem to twist and bend from his swing, landing with less strength or effect than he intended. The stinging and twitching begins to spread from his hand to his wrist as he strikes, crushing a few burning rats but again not as effectively as he had hoped.
Filnefillan attempts to use his sword against the rats, but many seem to crawl over and around the blade as his sword passes through them, the undulating mass providing less solid of a cutting surface than he'd hoped, there is simply too many to get a good edge against. Half Damage from Slashing Weapons
Together with the burning mixture Jocasta threw upon them the swarm of rats disperses, pulling apart and scurrying into the corners, under debris, and otherwise falls apart, leaving a oily residue of burnt carcasses, fresh droppings, and bloody trails of various fluids too noxious to describe.
The swarm has dissipated from physical damage.
Filnefillan "Fil" Lotusbow |
"I am not skilled in those arts, lest I would lend a hand. I am afraid I would do more harm than good." Fil says as he is watching the hall intently for more dangers. "If we are struck now, we are in quite mortal danger, can we move to a smaller space, something easier to defend perhaps? Is Toruk able to be moved?"
GM Darkblade |
The room at the end of the hall, last to be checked on the southern arm of the moat house, has no door or significant way to be secured, at least without some effort and elbow grease. There is a badly decomposing body of a brigand, stripped of gear, laying in the corner, two sets of fang marks showing on his body, one on his left cheek which pulled back the mouth into a maniacal grin, the other on the man's forearm. Clearly the brigands learned of the snake and gave this hallway a wide berth. The twenty foot deep forty foot wide chamber seemed to have served as a possible office or meeting hall, though what little furnishings remain have been burnt and hacked apart over the years since the place fell.
Filnefillan's quick search of the snakes cluttered closet turned up only one item of value in the serpent's nest, aside from the three eggs it was protecting, an ornate costume dagger in a bejeweled gold sheath set with green gemstones, a mix of emeralds and agates in light and dark contrasts.
Thinking of a room which might be more defensible, Braggi suggests the brigands' own compound. One door in, a secret door out, unused stairs down to the god's only know what, but apparently the group survived there for the winter without being accosted, at least we did them in...
Toruk the Traveler |
Toruk stands shakily to his feet. "That was quite a snake. Thank you Cedryk."
He then heals himself further.
CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Musami Forgeborn |
It is fine. Should I start working on my back-up character :P
Jocasta Riverwood |
"We need to get some rest. Let's use the old brigand room - at least we can shut the door and keep out animals. Maybe have a bite to eat and get some sleep. Can someone help get Musami there? He's in a bad way; we'll have to carry him if we don't have the means to heal his wounds," says Jocasta. She looks around the small, wrecked alcove and sighs, then hoists her pack once more with a grunt and fetches the daggers that she previously hurled and returns them to their sheaths.
Toruk the Traveler |
Toruk will use his last spell and the wand to heal Musami.
CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Musami Forgeborn |
Musami comes back to consciousness and jumps up from the ground. He looks about for the snake, hammer in hand.
GM Darkblade |
Musami is back up on his feet, somewhat battered and beaten from his ordeal. He and Toruk are still experiencing the muscle fatigue and system shock of the poisons yet to leave their systems. Looking around at each other you see some of you still bear wounds from your previous experiences not to mention damage taken in the recent fights.
Just to confirm, you intend to rest in the brigand's chamber overnite to heal a bit and recover spells. Then you will address the situation again in the morning. If this is so please post a watch list and how you intend to secure the door and secret passage before bedding down. At least the brigands left some of their bedding and tinder, so staying warm through the night shouldn't be too difficult, and you can cobble together a decent meal from the provisions you brought along.
Also, to confirm, you guys didn't accept the mule did you?
Musami Forgeborn |
If we rest up in the room for the night I will take a watch, not fussy when since none of my abilities need an 8 hour rest, I just need to not be tired tomorrow. I have no idea if we took the mule or not. I tried really hard to not take too much from the town.
Filnefillan "Fil" Lotusbow |
To my knowledge, we did not take the mule.
Looking to the others, "I will gladly watch over you, my friends. Once you have rested a bit, I will take my time to rest as well. You need more rest from that snake bite than I need from fighting rats.
He looks to Cedryk almost sad, as he does not know how the druid will react to fighting off the rats, even knowing the druid prefers plants to animals.
Filnefillan "Fil" Lotusbow |
Fil smiles at Jocasta, and stands over her fuel, casting Spark, starting the fire in short order.
"Magic has its uses for smaller, less destructive fires, too." He smiles weakly given the party's poisoned predicament. He sighs.
"We should be in pairs. At this point, resting individually may be hazardous to our health, Jocasta. I can take most of the night with someone else. Perhaps later, Cedryk will join me? Then Braggi with Musami and Toruk can watch while they perform their morning prayers and I rest a bit."
Jocasta Riverwood |
"Sure. Whatever's safest," she says. "Let me make one more check around the room for anything odd, and make sure the secret passage is shut. Then we should wedge the door shut."
She scrutinizes the room once more for any other vulnerabilities, then uses a dagger to wedge the door shut. Afterward she sits down by the fire and warms up some water, mixes some tea, and offers some to Fil. She goes through her rations for a hunk of white cheese and a biscuit.
"Right now folks just need a lot of sleep," she says. "If we can make a little money on this venture, maybe when we're back in the village I can do a little alchemical mixing and help make some antitoxins for future problems."
Braggi Wrongeye |
"I'll be happy to watch with you, Musami." Braggi gets ready for a possible stormy night, even though he didn't have beans for lunch.
Musami Forgeborn |
The watch order seemingly set Musami grabs his pack and beds down for the night. He is sure to remove his armour before settling.
GM Darkblade |
1d100 ⇒ 45
1d20 ⇒ 13
1d20 ⇒ 9
1d20 ⇒ 17
1d20 ⇒ 16
1d12 ⇒ 12
1d4 ⇒ 1
The night seems to pass uneventfully, your watches noticing nothing more than the sounds and whispers of a fallen keep, it's ghosts and shadows seeming to tweak your senses and jangle your nerves with every oddness and unease they can muster.
The dawn seems to come both too early and yet still not soon enough for some of you. Toruk and Musami seem to fair slightly better than yesterday, healing a bit from their shared poisonings, though recovery is a longer road than they anticipated. T & M heal 1 point of Con Damage each, remaining ability damage still in effect. Everyone who rested for a full 8 hours may heal up to 2 points of HP damage, not counting watch times.
Musami Forgeborn |
Musami grumbles as he rebraids his hair and beard. I guess the western hallway makes sense. Hopefully no more snakes. He looks at his Earthbreaker and gives it a light wipe with a scrap of cloth that was laying around I figure there would be a scrap of cloth around that he could use to keep the hammer clean-ish
Jocasta Riverwood |
Jocasta awakens in the morning with a slight groan. She tosses once in her bedroll, then lays her hand over her forehead. Finally she sits up and starts the slow business of untangling her hair, splashing some water on her face, and unrolling her cloak from its use as an extra pillow so that it can go back on after her armor.
"Are you two feeling well enough to continue?" she says as the poisoned pair get their meager breakfast.
Musami Forgeborn |
I can continue. I do not feel completely myself, but close enough to it. Another day or so and I should be good as new Musami dons his armour, hefts his hammer readies to set off.
GM Darkblade |
Everyone gathers themselves together and checks the exits, finding them still secured from the night before. Jocasta notices a faint odor of rot from the secret passageway, strong somewhere below, a sickly sweet smell of decay and putrefaction.
The main hall still appears as it was before you sealed yourselves away, covered in leaves and ruined furnishings. The burnt and scattered pile of rats is the only thing disturbed, much of the pile rooted, scattered, and chewed over, far less bodies remaining.
Checking over the western hallway has it still shows two closed doors on the southern wall, and one closed half-door with it's top section missing on the northern wall. The hallway ends passing through an open archway into a western room 20' deep, width undetermined. The area is dark, with a stronger smell of urine and shyte than previously detected. The lizard tracks spotted previously seem to come and go from this hallway, more recent than before.
Before proceeding Musami checks the alcove switchback, finding the 5' x 5' landing and stairs leading down. The stairs are littered with a spongy mass of fur, dirt, and debris several inches thick, possibly gathered over a long series of years. The area is mostly silent as he peers into the dark. Only a few small and skitter rats appear to still inhabit the area, somewhat fat and bloated, likely having fed upon their dead kin.
GM Darkblade |
Toruk creaks open the wooden door, it's hinges rusted, the wood swollen with damp. A small crevasse, roughly a foot wide by three long opens above the inner frame to the sky above, shedding light into the fifteen foot deep, twenty foot wide chambers. The eastern wall is cut at an angle, allowing for the grand stairs outside which led up to the entry of the main hall.
The room beyond appears to have once been a trophy or sitting room, from the hides, pelts, and despoiled heads mounted on the walls. Small trestle tables line the lower walls while a pair of padded chairs face the western wall's fireplace. The original fire, later looters, and long exposure to the elements have ruined much of what was once a fine master's chambers. The room smells faintly of mold, mildew, and mange infesting the mountings peeling and drooping from the bannerments.
Filnefillan "Fil" Lotusbow |
Fil looks over the rats, thinking I wonder if the surviving rats ate their fellows or was it something worse? Frowning that thought off, he follows Toruk and the others, bow at the ready.
Frowning, "A quick search may be in order, but it does appear that there is little of value in that room."
GM:
Is there anything specifically on the floor or is the floor stone/wood? Can we tell from our vantage point?